In the last few years, Romania has become a top maize producer. Export potential is sustained by ensuring high-quantity and -quality maize. Success of maize crop is highly dependent on inputs. In this context, insight into the potential of different fertilizers to maximize crop performance could shed light on best practices to enhance yields and other traits of interest. The aim of this study was to assess the agronomic performance of maize under a fertilization gradient. Six fertilizer regimes were tested on three maize hybrids between 2018 and 2020, in conditions from the Transylvanian Plain. Results showed that fertilization had a significant influence on yield, thousand kernels weight, grain quality (starch and protein content) and crop health. The experimental year also played a significant role in the expression of productivity potential of maize genotypes. Different fertilizer regimes could be used for targeting desired outcomes, but top performance across all or multiple agronomic components remains a challenge and should receive further attention for optimization.

Mineral fertilization is crucial for maximizing wheat yield, ensuring optimal nitrogen and phosphorus supply according to plant development, pedoclimatic conditions, and previous crops, with a balanced N:P ratio being decisive for productivity. This study, conducted at ARDS Turda during 2020/2021–2024/2025, evaluated the long-term effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization on the yield, grain protein content, and foliar disease incidence of winter wheat grown after maize and soybean. The experimental design was polyfactory, in randomized blocks, including 25 variants and 6 repetitions, according to the uninterrupted protocol used since 1967, winter wheat being cultivated after maize for grain and soybean. Phosphorus (0–160 kg P₂O₅ ha⁻¹) was applied in autumn, while nitrogen (0–160 kg N ha⁻¹ after maize and 0–120 kg N ha⁻¹ after soybean) was split 50% in autumn and 50% in spring. Results indicate that wheat yield is strongly influenced by nitrogen–phosphorus interactions and climatic conditions, with nitrogen increasing yield by 450–2700 kg·ha⁻¹ and maximum yields of 7600–7828 kg·ha⁻¹ achieved at N₁₂₀ with higher phosphorus rates. Grain protein content (14.96%) was high at N₁₂₀ dose, while foliar disease incidence and severity were low at minimal fertilization and rose with intensified mineral nutrition.

The paper presents data about wheat pest attack in Transylvania in the last 10 years, under the different climatic, phenological and technological conditions, with details of the correlations of the climatic factors with the bio-ecology of the species or pest groups. Such data may be important for modelling and forecasting wheat pest attacks. The climatic warming, represented strong environmental factors (R2 = 0.43), which led to changes in the species structure, favouring the development of the populations of a narrow spectrum of species becoming dominant and dangerous by numerical increases. In the years 2006-2015, the eudominance of thrips (58%), the dominance of aphids (14%) and of wheat flies (12%), the subdominant species of Chrysomelidae and the increase of entomophagus abundance were revealed. In the year 2016, the weight of the dominant groups of wheat flies (25%), aphids (21%), leafhoppers (18%), thrips (17%), of the subdominant group of Chrysomelidae (10.6%) and cereal bugs (4.5%) increased. Changes in entomocenotic interactions phytophagusentomophagus, changes in pest dynamics, and of optimal moments for treatments important in the development of integrated pest control systems, have occurred in wheat crops. In the conditions of the area, the annual abundance of entomophagus is determined by the annual abundance of phytophagous insects, as expressed by a positive correlation (R2 = 0.464 and D% = 46.4%). Under the conditions of the last 10 years, the annual ratio of the number of phytophagous / entomophagus fluctuated between 2.35 and 12.42. The size of the phytophagous / entomophagus ratio was strongly correlated with the increase of the average annual temperatures, with a percentage determination coefficient D% = 15.5%, having an optimum of the interactions at values of 6.3 phytophagous / 1 entomophagus, and less well correlated with the annual precipitations. These changes in wheat entomocenoses, the biological potential accumulated over the last 10 years and at the level of 2016 indicate the importance of adapting pest control strategies, which should include preventive methods (respecting the optimum sowing time, agro-technical and phytosanitary methods), insecticide treatments on seed and on vegetation, at optimal application times for the groups of pests whose attacks overlap, respectively the first treatment in the spring, no later than the end of tillering, for wheat flies, leafhoppers, Chrysomelidae etc.; the second treatment at the phenophase of flag leaf stage and ear appearance, for thrips, aphids, bugs etc.; and other treatments at warning. Given the importance of entomophagous arthropod fauna in limiting wheat pests it is necessary to protect and use the auxiliary entomophagus, flora biodiversity involved in achieving the productivity and stability of wheat crops.

Maize is one of the most important agricultural crops worldwide, due to its high production potential and the multiple uses of its products. In the context of the need to maintain high yields and preserve soil fertility, the use of green manures together with mineral fertilizers can represent a sustainable solution. For this purpose, during the period 2024–2025, at the Turda Agricultural Research and Development Station (Cluj, Romania), a field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of two cover crops used as green manures, white lupin (Lupinus albus) and phacelia (Phacelia sp.), on the Turda 344 maize hybrid. Within each agrofund (classical, after lupin, and after phacelia), five fertilization variants were tested, consisting of basic fertilization and the supplementary application of mineral fertilizers and biostimulants. The results highlighted the major influence of climatic conditions on yield and grain quality, with the experimental year having a significant effect on the main parameters analyzed. In 2024, under basic fertilization, lupin and phacelia increased grain yield by 8.0% and 1.4%, respectively, compared with the classic agrofund, while in 2025, phacelia maintained a yield advantage of 1.4%. The highest yields were obtained in 2025, when climatic conditions were more favorable, and additional fertilization with ammonium nitrate determined the highest values, reaching 9748 kg/ha in the phacelia agrofund (+6.3% compared with the basic fertilization), 9544 kg/ha in the lupine agrofund (+7.2%), and 9612 kg/ha in the classical agrofund (+6.3%). Additional nitrogen application also led to the highest values of thousand kernel weight, highlighting the essential role of nitrogen in the grain filling process. Grain quality analysis showed that variations in starch and protein content had an inverse evolution between the two experimental years, suggesting the influence of climatic conditions and nitrogen availability on grain composition.

In temperate regions, Fusarium ear rot (FER) caused by Fusarium spp. is among the most important limiting factors to maize yield and kernel quality. The role of genotype and sowing date in mitigating FER risk remains insufficiently explored, particularly under the variable climatic conditions of the Transylvanian Plain, Romania. A three-year field experiment (2021–2023) was conducted to evaluate twelve early to semi-early maize hybrids across four sowing dates (very early—SD1, early—SD2, optimum—SD3, late—SD4). FER incidence and severity were assessed at harvest, and yields were analyzed in relation to genotype, disease pressure, and seasonal climate variability. Mean FER incidence reached 74.9% and severity was 3.4%, with significant variation among years, sowing dates, and hybrids. Early sowings (SD1, SD2) recorded the highest infection levels (up to 83.6% incidence and 4.6% severity). In contrast, the latest sowing (SD4) exhibited the lowest disease pressure (59.1% and 2.5%, respectively) and achieved the highest yield (9.1 t ha−1). Significant differences were noted between hybrids: Turda 332, Turda Star, and Turda 165 were highly susceptible, whereas Turda 380, HST 149, and Turda 2020 displayed higher levels of tolerance. A strong correlation between yield losses and FER severity was observed for very early sowing (r = 0.72, p < 0.01); this relationship was not evident under later sowing. These results indicate that choosing the sowing date according to seasonal climatic conditions, together with the use of the most tolerant hybrids, represents an effective strategy to reduce the risk of FER and to obtain stable maize yields in temperate regions.

Biological and integrated pest management strategies have recently been widely adopted in crop protection, with one of the key approaches involving the use of natural enemies (predators and parasites). In order to identify and monitor beneficial arthropod species associated with winter wheat crops, an experiment was conducted between 2022 and 2024 in two locations in the Transylvanian Plateau: Turda, within an open-field agroecosystem, and Bolduţ, within an agroecosystem with protective agroforestry shelterbelts. The research aimed to evaluate the diversity of beneficial arthropod fauna in two agroecosystems, as well as the impact of insecticide treatments on the natural enemies of wheat pests. According to our findings, it can be stated that the beneficial arthropods identified in the two agroecosystems belonging to the same groups, but the abundance in all three years is higher in the agroecosystem with agroforestry shelterbelts. Among all the analyzed arthropods, the order Araneae was characterized by the highest abundance, recording 995 individuals in an insecticide-free variant in 2022. The treated variants with insecticide showed a decrease in both abundance and diversity in agroecosystems with and without shelterbelts during all three experimental years, compared to the variant without insecticides. Regarding abundance, the largest difference was recorded in 2024 in the shelterbelt agroecosystem with a reduction of 781 individuals. In terms of diversity, the lowest value was observed for the Shannon_H index in open-field agroecosystem in 2024 for the variant treated with insecticides (1.426), compared to the untreated variant, where the index reached a value of 1.841. The application of insecticide treatments caused an increase in the mortality of beneficial arthropods, reaching its highest level in 2024.